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He fought under the name Dave "Boy" McAuley, and was one of the last Irish boxers to fight for a world title over 15 rounds. His two epic fights against Fidel Bassa were both voted "Fight of the Year", in 1986 and 1987 respectively. McAuley was a superb boxer who showed perhaps more bravery than any other modern Irish fighter. Anyone that was privileged enough to watch the Bassa fights would have witnessed a boxing masterclass - McAuley hauled himself off the canvas to go on and give Bassa the fright of his life. He finally defeated Duke McKenzie for the IBF title[when?]. He defended his recognized IBF World Title and became the most successful Irish fighter post-war with a recognized IBF World Title.[citation needed]

Among his most famous bouts were two brutal encounters with Colombian Fidel Bassa at Belfast's King's Hall. In 1989 McAuley won the IBF title from Duke McKenzie. He successfully defended his title five times, eventually losing it to Rodolfo Blanco in 1992, whom he had beaten two years previously.[2]

McAuley was unusual for a flyweight in that he was extremely tall for someone in the flyweight division, standing at 5'7". He was one of the Irelands most underrated boxers, and was poorly treated by various promoters and media after his loss to Blanco.

McAuley was almost tempted out of retirement on more than one occasion, right up to the mid-1990s. He was rumoured for a comeback fight with Prince Naseem Hamed, for which he has stated, "I will fight anyone for the right price".[citation needed]

McAuley recently[when?] took part in a celebrity boxing poker tournament organised by partypoker.com however being an amateur in this sport was put out first after going "all in" with ace two off suit. In 2009, he was back in Poker Super Stars and got through to the final table in London.[citation needed]